Mechanical apparatus



Dec. 26, 1961 E. FOWLE 3,015,004

MECHANICAL APPARATUS Filed May 1, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 Egg 1 20 ggwi54 VENTOR.

L ONA E..FOWLE BY %4dm ATTORNEY Dec. 26, 1961 L. E. FOWLE MECHANICALAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1, 1958 INVENTOR. LEONARD E. FO VLEATTORNEY .rangement, While useful in United States 3,015,004 PatentedDec. 26, 1961 tree 3,015,004 MECHANICAL APPARATUS Leonard E. Fowle,Woburn, Mass'., assignor to Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company,Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 1, 1958, Ser. No.732,277 8 Claims. (Cl. 290-46) A general object of the present inventionis to provide a new and improved apparatus for use in a document readingmechanism. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with anew and improved mounting for a tabulating card hole sensing brushcombination which is characterized by its ease of manufacture, the easeby which the sensing brushes in the apparatus may be interchanged andthe ease with which the individual brushes may be adjusted and aligned.

Punched tabulating cards are widely used for conveying data andinformation. The utilization of punched tabulating cards by automaticdata processing equipment requires that there be a sensing made todetermine where the cards may be punched. A typical tabulating cardmay'have eighty columns spread along the length of the card with eachcolumn being comprised of twelve levels or rows. One well-known methodof reading a punched tabulating card is to pass the card past a readingstation where there are a plurality of electrical brush contacts whichare adapted to project through the card at any position wherein there isa hole. When the brush contacts do pass through a hole in the card, anelectrical circuitis completed and this'electrical circuit may be usedfor converting the information which was on the card into a differentform where it may be utilized by automatic means.

The ability of any document reading mechanism to sense holes in apunched tabulating card is dependent to a large extent upon the adequacyand reliability of the electrical brush contacts which are intended topass through the holes in the card. In a preferred form of sensingbrush, the brush is comprised of a plurality of wire elements bundledtogether and mounted so as to project into a predetermined positionalong the path of travel of the tabulating card as it passes through thedocument reader.

Even though extreme care is exercised in selecting the cards which areto be read, thereis always a certain amount of mechanical wear on thebrushes used for sensing the holes in the cards. In addition, card jamsin the document reader may cause undesired jamming of the cards in thevicinity of the reading station to thereby mechanically bend the brushesbeyond the point where they can be readily reused. This means that anybrush which has been unduly bent or otherwise destroyed may have to beremoved. In some instances, all of the brushes at one particular readingstation are formed as an integral unit such that when any one brush inthe unit is no longer usable, it is necessary to replace the entireassembly. Such an arrangement is extremely costly and has required thatmore flexible apparatus be provided at the brush. reading station. Tothis end there has heretofore existed individual brush mounts, each ofwhich had its own individual fastening means, for locking the individualbrush elements into position. This arterins of individual brushreplacement, is in fact extremely expensive to manufacture.

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there hasbeen provided a new brush mounting assembly which is characterized byits accuracy in insuring proper brush alignment. Further, the apparatushas been arranged so that individual brushes may be adjusted in theirposition on the mount or may be readily replaced in the event that theyare no longer of any use.

It is accordingly a further more specific object of the presentinvention to provide a highly flexible brush mounting mechanism whereinthe individual brushes of the mechanism are individually mounted and maybe individually adjusted or replaced with. a minimum of effort.

Another important feature of the present invention lies in the fact thatonce the individual brushe are in their appropriate position on asupport member, electrical contact may be made with the same without therequirement of special contacting screws, soldering or other couplingmeans requiring appreciable time and eiiort to accomlish. p Anotherobject of the invention is then to provide a new and improved brushsensing holder which embodies a very simple yet positive electricalconnection between each individual brush while retaining the flexibilityof being able to remove each individual brush without any major effortrequired in terms of electrical disconnection.

The foregoing objects and features of novelty which characterize theinvention, as well as other objects of the invention, are pointed outwith particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thepresent specification. For a better understanding of the invention, itsadvantages and specific objects attained with its use, reference shouldbe had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in whichthere is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

Of the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional View of station;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the card reading station withportions thereof removed; and

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view of the main portion of the brush holdingmechanism of the present invention.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, the numeral 10 represents a brush type cardreading station into which the present invention has been incorporated.Included in the card reading station is a brush or hole sensing element12. Normally the brush 12 will be engaging the surface of a contact roll14. When the brush is contacting the roll 14, an electrical circuit willbe completed between the brush and the contact roll.

For driving cards past the reading station, there is provided a pair ofmechanical drive rolls 16 and 18. These drive rolls are adapted to feedcards from a suitable card picking mechanism down through a chute formedby the guide members 20 and 22 so that the cards will pass under andbetween the brush 12 and the roll 14. At any position wherein the cardmay be punched, the brush 12 will spring back into engagement with thecontact roll 14 to complete an electrical circuit which may be used inany desired manner in a data utilization apparatus.

Considering the brush reading station in greater detail, it will be seento comprise a base member 24 which is adapted to carry a brush supportframe 26. The base member 24 may be mounted on a suitable frame so as tobe readily adjustable by means not shown. This type of adjustmentprovides for preliminarily aligning the assembly. The support frame 26is fastened to the base 24 by a suitable fastening means 28. As viewedin FIG- URE 2, the brush support frame 26 has a plurality of slots outalong one edge thereof with edges of each of the slots being defined bya pair of ridges, such as the ridges 30 and 32. Positioned within eachof the slots, adjacent the edges thereof, as at the ridges 30 and 32,are a pair of brush elements 34 and 36. Positioned between the brushes34 and 36 is a piece of compressible material 38, such as a piece ofrubber, which exerts sufiicient a card reading 3 lateral pressure whenin position to hold the brushes 34 and 36 in position. A similar brushholding combination is incorporated in each of the other slots on thebrush support frame 26.

For locking the brushes into position upon the support frame 26 there isprovided a block 40. As viewed in FIGURE 3, the block 40 will be seen tohave formed on the brush engaging the side thereof a pair of embossedsurfaces 42 and 44. These two embossed surfaces, when the block 40 is inposition, are adapted to exert an additional compressive force upon thematerial 33 to further cause this material to expand and firmly grip thebrushes 34 and 36.

Also carried by the block 49 is an electrical contacting member 46 whichis adapted to extend through the block 40 from a connection made on theopposite side of the block to an appropriate eiectrical cable 48. Theelectrical cable may well carry ten individual wires which are adaptedto be connected to ten appropriate contacting wires, such as the wire 46extending through the block. Once formed, the contact wire 46 and theassociated cables may be potted in their position in the block 40.Positioned immediately under the contact wire 46, and all of the othercontact wires extending through the block, is a resilient member 50, thelatter being slightly embedded in the surface of the block 40.

When the block 40 is moved into position, the contact wire 46 willengage the associated brush l2 and will be bent to conform to the brushin the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1. The resilient member 50 willserve to exert a compressing force against the contact 46 to firmly holdthe contact in engagement with the brush associated therewith.

A U-shaped clamping member 52 is adapted to be fastened by a suitablefastening means 54 to the brush support block 26. This member has aknife-like edge at 56 which tends to rock the member so that the lowerend thereof at 58 will bear against the block 4% and hold it firmly inposition against the support frame 26.

In one embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, theblock 40 is adapted to accommodate ten brushes. It will be apparenthowever, that the principles of the invention are applicable to anydesired combination.

In the event that it should be desired to adjust or replace a brush inthe combination, it is but necessary to remove the U-shaped member 52and then lift the block 40 associated with the brush in question fromposition. The brush may then be adjusted, or removed and replaced Withanother, and then the assembly quickly put back together again. Onceassembled, a positive electrical contact will once again be made withthe brush then in position and the apparatus will be ready for use.

It will be readily apparent from the foregoing explanation that thepresent invention eliminates the need for any costly screws, clamps, andthe like for each of the individual brushes but instead provides a meanswhich is very convenient for assembly and for servicing. Further, nosolder connection or screw terminals are required in order to effectelectrical connection to the brush which further enhances theservicability of the apparatus. It will also be apparent that eachindividual brush is now an expendible item rather than the entire blockof brushes as Was heretofore common practice in certain types of cardreading mechanisms.

Other advantages of the invention will be apparent when it is noted thatthe brushes when in position in their slotted locations in the member 26will positively coincide with the desired hole spacings on the cards tobe read. Another advantage of the invention lies in the fact that theresilient member 54) aligned behind the contact members, such as themember 46, provides the means for taking up inherent tolerancevariations both in the block 40 and in the dimensions of the shank ofthe brush. This further insures that there will be good electricalcontact made to each brush.

While, in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, there has beenillustrated and described the best forms of the invention known, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in theapparatus described without departing from the spirit of the inventionas set forth in the appended claims and that in some cases, certainfeatures of the invention may be used to advantage without acorresponding use of other features.

Having now described the invention, what is claimed as new and novel andfor which it is desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A brush holder for a document reader comprising a support memberhaving a plurality of slots on one side thereof, a plurality ofindividual brush members positioned within said slots, a brush lockingblock carrying a plurality of electrical contacts, means fastening saidblock adjacent said support member so that said contacts engage saidbrush members and said contacts hold said brush members in positionwithin said support member, and resilient means independent of saidcontacts positioned on said block between said block and said contactsto force said contacts into engagament with said brush members when saidbrush locking block is fastened to said support members.

2. In a document reading device, the combination comprising a supportmember, said support member having a plurality of elongated slots on oneside thereof, a plurality of brush elements, two of which are adapted tobe positioned against the opposite walls of each of said slots, and acompressible medium positioned in each of said slots between the twobrush elements in each of said slots to hold the brush elements inposition in said support member.

3.1m a document reading device, the combination comprising a supportmember, said support member having a plurality of elongated slots on oneside thereof, a plurality of brush elements, two of which are adapted tobe positioned against the opposite Walls of each of said slots, acompressible medium positioned in each of said slots between the twobrush elements in each of said slots to hold the brush elements inposition in said support member, and means positioned on said supportmember to exert a compressive force on said compressible material.

4. In a document reading device, the combination comprising a supportmember, said support member having a plurality of elongated slots on oneside thereof, a plurality of brush elements, two of which are adapted tobe positioned against the opposite walls of each of said slots, acompressible medium positioned in each of said slots between the twobrush elements in said slot to hold the brush elements in position insaid support member, a contact carrying block adapted to be mounted onsaid support member, said block when in position causing the contactsthereon to engage said brush elements, and means fastening said block inposition.

5. In a document reading device, the combination comprising a supportmember, said support member having a plurality of elongated slots on oneside thereof, a plurality of brush elements, two of which are adapted tobe positioned against the opposite walls of each of said slots, acompressible medium positioned in each of said slots between the twobrush elements in said slot to hold the brush elements in position insaid support member, a contact carrying block adapted to be mounted onsaid support member, said block carrying a plurality of embossmentsadapted to engage said compressible medium, and means fastening saidblock in position on said support member.

6. In a document reading device, the combination comprising a supportmember, said support member having a plurality of elongated slots on oneside thereof, a plurality of brush elements, two of which are adapted tobe positioned against the opposite walls of each of said slots, acompressible medium positioned in each of said slots between the twobrush elements in each said slot to hold the brush elements in positionin said support member, a brush locking block carrying a plurality ofcontacts, means fastening said block adjacent said support member sothatsaid contacts engage said brush members and hold said brush membersin position within said support member, and resilient means positionedon said block to force said contacts into engagement with said brushmembers.

7. A reading device as defined in claim 6 wherein said block carries aprojection which is adapted to engage said compressible medium andexpand said medium to firmly engage said brush elements.

8. A brush holder for a document reader comprising 5 2,543,906

a support member carrying a plurality of brushes, a plurality ofelectrical contacting means adapted to engage said brushes, a brushlocking block having a side adjacent said brushes, a compressibleresilient means independent of said contacting means positioned betweensaid side of said block and said brushes, and a clamp adapted to beadjusted to bias said resilient means toward said brushes to maintain amechanical pressure on said brushes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Dalyet a1. Apr. 3, 1945 Ford Mar. 6, 1951

